LGW formally announced:
Gatwick to serve 8 routes with fares starting from £ 19.99
Dublin, London, 19 December: Aer Lingus Group plc ("Aer Lingus") is
pleased to announce the opening of its new international base at London
Gatwick Airport. The base is the airline's first outside the island of
Ireland and will position Aer Lingus for profitable growth in Europe's
largest aviation market.
Aer Lingus will initially locate 4 Airbus A320 short haul aircraft at
Gatwick from April 2009 and will operate services to Malaga, Munich, Nice,
Vienna, Dublin, Knock, Faro and Zurich with fares starting from £ 19.99 one
way including taxes. Within 12 months the new base is expected to grow to
8 aircraft with the potential for up to 2.5 million passengers a year. In
the first year with a total investment of £ 100m, over 120 new jobs will be
created directly through local recruitment of pilots and cabin crew. This
will grow as more aircraft are deployed to the base.
Commenting on the announcement today, Aer Lingus Chief Executive Dermot
Mannion said: "We are very excited at this opportunity to grow our
business in Europe's biggest aviation market and to extend our low-fares,
quality offering to new travellers. We are offering consumers flights to
top European business and leisure destinations at convenient times and
competitive fares as part of a superior offering that sets us apart from
our rivals. The Gatwick operation will complement our existing services
out of London Heathrow, and position Aer Lingus for growth as we roll out
new routes and bases in future years."
Mike Luddy, Commercial Director, London Gatwick Airport said: "This is
fantastic news for Gatwick, the south east region and particularly for
passengers who will enjoy travelling on these great routes from next
summer.
We know Aer Lingus evaluated a range of airports across Europe for their
first base outside Ireland and we are delighted that they chose Gatwick as
their London base. In this challenging period for the aviation industry,
this is proof of Gatwick's position as an ideal airport for profitable
airline growth."